The Garden rivalry with the Hawks in recent seasons mainly has been about one opposing player, with Trae Young forever cementing himself as a New York villain in a first-round elimination of the Knicks in 2021.
But it was Young’s dynamic new backcourt mate Dejounte Murray who destroyed the Knicks on Wednesday night, as the Hawks stormed back from a 23-point first-half deficit and sent Tom Thibodeau’s team to its third straight defeat with a 112-99 dismantling at the Garden.
The oft-booed Young was held to 17 points on 7-for-22 shooting, but Murray — a 2021 All-Star obtained from the Spurs in the offseason — netted 23 of his game-high 36 in the first half as the Hawks improved to 5-3.
One game after offseason target Donovon Mitchell torched the Knicks for 38 in Cleveland, Murray — another player they failed to obtain in the offseason — also posted nine assists and six steals over an electrifying 38 minutes.
Dejounte Murray slams home two of his 37 points in the Knicks’ 112-99 loss to the Hawks. Julius Randle (inset) scored 14 points in the loss.USA TODAY Sports; Robert SaboJalen Brunson led the Knicks (3-4) with 20 points, with RJ Barrett scoring 19 and Julius Randle finishing with 14. Second-year guard Quentin Grimes (foot soreness) was cleared to play for the first time this season, but he didn’t get off the bench until 4:48 remained in the fourth quarter, with Cam Reddish maintaining his spot for at least one more game on the second unit.
The Knicks led by as many as 13 during the first quarter, despite Brunson sitting down after picking up his second foul 4:43 into the game. Derrick Rose replaced him and drilled a 3-pointer from the right side to cap a 13-0 run with under a minute left in the session.
Young missed 10 of 12 early attempts from the floor and finished the quarter with five points and a minus-11 rating over the first 12 minutes.
Jalen Brunson, who scored 20 points, drives to the basket during the Knicks’ loss.Robert SaboOf course, the Garden fans began chanting “F–k Trae Young” during the Hawks’ five-game playoff elimination of the Knicks in 2021, and Young responded to the continued taunts by dropping 45 points in an Atlanta victory in his lone Manhattan appearance last season on March 22.
“You guys still talking about that? Of course he gets excited,” Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said before the game. “I haven’t talked to him about this but Trae feeds off of that. He’s a big moment player.
“You come to the Garden it’s a big moment, it’s a big place to play. All the good players I think in the league look forward to coming here and playing and playing well.”
RJ Barrett, who score 19 points, drives to the basket during the Knicks’ loss.Robert SaboReddish, and not Grimes, replaced Barrett to open the second quarter as the second unit extended the Knicks’ lead to 15 on Obi Toppin’s reverse layup off a football pass from Isaiah Hartenstein two minutes into the period and to 18 on Toppin’s 3-pointer 23 seconds later.
Toppin also dropped in another bucket from downtown for 10 points in the quarter, as the Knicks extended their led to 23 with seven minutes to go before halftime. But Young netted 10 in a 29-14 closeout run by the Hawks — with Murray pouring in 18 in the quarter — to shave the Knicks’ lead to 65-57 heading into intermission.
The Hawks then registered the first 10 points of the second half, taking the lead on Young’s transition layup three minutes into the third. On the Knicks’ next offensive possession, Young appeared to take a shot in the face in a collision with Randle and temporarily came out of the game. His replacement, Aaron Holiday, buried another 3 to extend the Atlanta run to open the third to 10-0.
The Knicks shot 5-for-19 overall in the third and clanked all nine of their 3-point attempts, while committing nine of their 16 turnovers, to trail 89-75 entering the final quarter.
Immanuel Quickley’s left-side 3-pointer drew the Knicks back within 10 with barely seven minutes to go in the fourth, but consecutive treys by De’Andre Hunter (21 points) and Murray pushed the Atlanta advantage back to 18 with 5:18 remaining.
